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| *Travel Tips>>>Houston Travel Tips |
Moving to houston texas in 4 months from San Francisco...? |
Travel Info my boyfriend and i just graduated from college and we know that staying here in the san francisco bay area is not a smart idea. the cost of living is just way too high. so we planned on moving to houston in 4 months. he's really excited about it..but since i was born and raised here in san francisco, i dont know what else to expect. to be honest, im kind of scared. but i know this is a smart move for us. we're planning a trip next month to visit Sugar Land ( i think that is where we will pruchase our house)... but being in the houston area for only 2 days will not do any good for me as far as what to expect. i know there is going to be a few different things here and there... i'm just scared of leaving... and not knwoing what to expect. can someone share with me their likes and dislikes about the houston area... thanks in advance! :) Travel Tips Houston is a great city with lots of thing to to. The also have wonderful restaurants. The weather is very humid - more than San Fransisco and hot, Do your Christmas shopping early because there more cars that parking spots. Traffic is terrible, but the people are friendly and housing is inexpensive ( compared to other large cities). I lived there for 30yrs and enjoyed everything but the traffic. Others dont do it i have lived in both places and i hated texas stay in a smaller town in california thats what i would do there are so many small but nice towns there just go to one of those the beach in texas is soo ugly I feel for you, going from one of the great cities of the world to a one that even Texans don't like. If you want to know what Houston in like, think Oakland surrounded by Martinez and add horrible weather. About that whole cost of living thing...because the cost is lower, so are the wages. What you should really be worried about is moving without being married. Good luck... your in for a rude awakening.....hope you can stand really high humidity, an flyin bugs Well, if it means anything, my little sister and I were born and raised in Houston. She now lives in San Francisco and has for 5 years. She loves it by comparision. I have thought of moving out that way. Take your expected salaries, minus the cost of living percentage, say 60% of your salary, for housing, food, transportation, etc. Now you have 40% of your salary left. Sock, say 10%, into a 401k. That leaves 30% disposable income. Your salary is much higher in Cal. than in Tex. This means the 10% in your 401k is much higher in dollar amounts. This also means your 30% disposable income is much higher in dollar amounts. After say, thirty years, the amount in dollars in your 401k will be much higher based on a Cal salary than a Tex salary. I estimated it to be as much as 35% higher. Then you retire to Tex and live cheaper with a much larger retirement fund. Meanwhile, your purchasing power is much higher when shopping online or mailorder. You know, buying electronics or jewelry and such. If your jobs will pay a salary based on a US or global scale, then Houston may work for you. If it is based on local or state scale, you really don't gain alot. Sugarland (one word) is a nice and booming area. Downtown and Midtown is being revitalized and going loft and townhomes. The advantage to these two places is missing the long commute to work. Sugarland to downtown commute can be 1-2 hours, depending on traffic. Houstonians for the most part are very friendly and down to earth. Most don't care for false airs or pretentious people. Just be friendly and you will recieve in kind. Geographically, Houston can be hot and humid in the summer and you will have to become used to it. Fortunately, it is an air conditioned city, everywhere. It is close to beaches but they aren't that pretty but the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are warm and you can swim in them 8 months out of the year. The City of Houston itself is becoming wireless soon. Over 600 square miles or so of coverage, the largest in the nation. Something else to note is that Houston is spread out and sprawling. Don't depend on public transportation, cars are a neccessity here. Many businesses and corporations based in Houston area are not located downtown. There are many, for lack of a better term, mini-downtowns around Houston. Houston has a thriving art scene and theatre district, probably not as large as SF but nice and progressive in itself. There is even the Gay Pride Parade in the Montrose area. There can be the threat of a hurricane but Sugarland and Houston are far enough inland that the main threat is from flooding and power outages. On the bright side, there is zero earthquake threat. And with a hurricane, you receive several days notice to prepare. People talk funny here, most of us have a Texas drawl that some people might mistake for being slow witted. Don't make that mistake, we just think about what we are going to say. Spend a year here and when you to visit home, you'll get teased about your new Texas drawl. Houston has great shopping on the international level and the grocery stores stock all varieties of ethinic foods. Houston has people from all over the world living here. It has a large asian community, complete with asian stores and restaurants. Houston itself is a 24/7 city. The suburbs are tamer but with nice anemities. Many people day trip to Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a city rich in history and many cruise ships to Belize and Mexico call it homeport. There are several tourist areas that mimic the Fisherman's Wharf area. Galveston also has a Mardi Gras party and parades that run for two weeks. Many people also head to the hill country part of Texas on summer weekends to tube down the Guadalupe or San Marcos rivers. Very pretty area near Austin and San Antonio (where the Alamo is). Others head to Louisiana for casino gambling or the cajun/creole cooking. Anyway, Houston, like any other city, has good things about it and bad. If you're generally a happy person and find the good in things, you'll like Houston. If you try to constantly compare it to home, you'll make yourself miserable anywhere. It is good to get out in the world a little and explore others states and lifestyles. I moved from Houston to Orlando Fl when I was 23. Lived there for 5 years. Lived also in Nashville and Lake Charles La. Some things I loved, others I hated. Alot of it has to do with who you make friends with once you get there and the type of people you work with. Houston is not San Francisco and never will be, but SF is not Houston and never will be either. There is a lot to explore here and a lot to do. You will have to actively pursue those things that interest you as they will not come to you. Many events and activities are not covered by the local media so unless you search for them, you'll never know they exist. A note on Sugarland, it is so called due to the fact that the town industry used to be the refining of sugar. Imperial Sugar was the company. It was way out from Houston but has since outgrown sugar and has become a suburb of Houston. It has grown rapidly in the past 15 years and has lost a lot of its rural roots. It is now somewhat upscale and many athletes from the pro sports teams live there. Hope that this helps a little and welcome to Houston. Feel free to contact me for any questions you may have. I'll give you my contact 411, if you want, so you won't feel as though you guys don't know anyone to call in case of problems. It's too freak'n Hot here ! Hurricane's are not to be messed with but at least they are somewhat predictable unlike earthquakes :) There is alot to see and do here. Galveston Island is close by if you like fishing or water ski. Sugarland is a great area! It's not that bad really. San Fran is beautiful and has a much better view, but Houston is a pretty cool city. It is a lot less expensive. I live near Katy Tx. There are a lot of job oppotunities here. And there is a pretty decent night life.You will absolutly hate the traffic. There is a lot of construction going on expecially to the highways which makes getting around pretty hard. You will have to drive everywhere. It's not like you can walk to many places. I hate that. Especially while school is in session traffic starts from 3pm- 7pm mon-fri. A great thing about Houston is that it has everything. There are a lot of business people (mainly oil and gas) So once you get into the Galleria area you will very expensive homes and really nice cars. The Galleria has all the big time stores like Vercase..Chanel ..Tiffanys etc. Sugarland is on the out skirts so it's like a big suburb. Downtown Houston is all business and nightlife. Probably not the best area to reside unless you have a lot of money. Sugarland and Katy have to be the best places to live in Houston. You picked a great spot and you'll get use to it. You'll have most of what you need right there around you. |
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